it's been a while since we had some nice, old city music.. so here is a wonderful tape i just received, straight from alexandra in bangkok! music from singer, actress & national artist ruangthong thonglanthom! ruangthong is a veteran of the suntaraphon big band since their days as the government public relations department band. growing up an orphan, raised by her grandmother, she did not have the priveledge of advanced schooling, and instead was sent to cultivate her promising voice under the care of suntaraphon founder uea sunthonsanan. she was a big star in his ensemble through the late 50's/early 60's, and had a successful solo career afterwards, frequently to be seen/heard on the radio, television & silver screen. very nice songs on here, a couple instances of thai folk beat & even japanese flourishes alongside the standard luk krung international dance band sound. enjoy!!

some more luk thung, this week from 70's heart-throb sonchai mekwichian. hailing from khorat, sonchai, like many luk thung stars from the 70's on, got his start singing at local talent competitions. in this manner sonchai gained a good a bit of popularity around isaan, culminating in a few tv appearances & such, though his real break would be one of pure luck. during a tour up-country, luk thung songwriter chalong phusawang happened to require some auto work, and brought his car to the very mechanics' whereat sonchai worked his day-job. with his car in-shop, sonchai managed to perform a tune or so for the songwriter, and though his voice wasn't much to chalong's taste, chalong's wife, who was also in attendance, was so taken with the young singer that the maestro had little choice but to accept him. the tunes on here are quite nice, slow luk thung, featuring a few nods to the music of sonchai's home region, the northeast. hope you enjoy! and be sure to check out another album of his (featuring all the hits!) available over at the selmanaires' sound center.

this week, quite a time ravaged cassette, but one featuring a favorite singer of mine, sonkhiri siprachuap. born and raised in samut songkhram province, sonkhiri left school at a young age to work on his family's coconut palm farm, and later a pineapple plantation down in prachuap khiri khan. between shifts, he would always entertain his fellow farmhands by singing the songs of khamron sambunnanon, dreaming of becoming a famous singer. eventually he auditioned for payong mukda's group, but was rejected.. he persisted in his struggle, though, and after many years of performing with a popular local ramwong group, came to the attention of luk thung maestro phaibun butkhan. with the hits of phaibun to propel him, sonkhiri became a huge star throughout the kingdom. sadly, he was killed in a motor accident in 1972, in the middle of a huge country-wide tour. sonkhiri's sweet, sorrowful voice is remembered fondly still.. his songs were featured prominently in pen-ek ratanarueang's 1999 film เรื่องตลก 69 ("6ixtynin9"), wherein his tragic serenades cause the gangsters to break down in tears. enjoy!

this week we've got some electric isaan grooves from phin maestro a. num phutai! the พิณ (phin), a plucked lute of unknown origin, is in it's electrified form one of the most recognizable and attention-grabbing aspects of modern isaan music. achan num phutai, as well as being a teacher of phin (witness his many how-to vcds!), composes tunes for molam popstars.. but here it's just him, playing a solid 40-minute phin medley. as the approved product of a reputable phin instructor, i imagine this tape is replete with the expected virtuosity (though you'd have to consult someone with more pick-related knowledge than i). this one is another from alexandra; she has all the best! enjoy!!

enchanting songs of thailand

a collection of great music made by the people of thailand; luk thung, luk krung, molam, regional folk styles & more. mostly recorded from tape, sound quality should be pretty good (unless stated otherwise). transliteration is done using the royal thai general system of transcription. feedback/re-upload requests/etc. always appreciated!